Black History Month is a perfect time to remember the most legendary African-American superheroes and their creators. This list will stimulate debate and that’s part of its intent. You will not agree with all my picks, the order in which they fall, or some notable omissions. I will still do some workups on the numerous honorable mentions that didn’t quite make this list.

I looked at a number of things: the character’s origins, impact, whether this character carried a solo book, launched a movie or just had an important story to tell. This installment presents #10-6.

10. Steel: Combining the African-American folk tale of John Henry with the modern mythos of Superman, Louise Simonson and artist John Bogandove created Steel in 1993. Steel was one of the characters featured in the “Reign of the Supermen” storyline in which other heroes attempted to fill the shoes of the “dead” Superman.

Superman saved weapons engineer John Henry Irons, who fell from a skyscraper during a construction job. Irons asked Superman how to repay him, to which Supes replied Irons should “live a life worth saving.” After Superman’s death, Irons donned power armor of his own design to restore order. Some of his first battles were against people using weapons Irons made that fell into the wrong hands.

Steel appeared in a solo series from 1994-1998, first written by co-creator Simonson and later by Christopher Priest. In addition, Steel has appeared as a member of the Justice League in both comics and cartoons. His story came to the big screen in a lackluster film adaptation starring Shaquille O’Neal that left critics and fans cold. That criminally bad film doesn’t affect Steel’s standing here.

9. Green Lantern (John Stewart): Created by writer Denny O’ Neill and artist Neal Adams, Stewart is a trusted member of DC Comics’ intergalactic police force the Green Lantern Corps. Over the years Stewart evolved from a stereotypical “angry black man” into a complex character taking a leadership role in the Justice League and other organizations. Stewart even served as the first human member of the Guardians of the Universe, the organization that founded the GLC.

Beginning as a fill-in character for Lanterns like Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner, Stewart gained a large amount of exposure (and the ire of some fans) as the GL of choice in the Justice League Unlimited animated series. The show’s writers opted to use Stewart over Jordan to add diversity to a largely white JLA roster. He has since joined the comic incarnation of the league as well.

Stewart headlined his own short-lived DC series Green Lantern: Mosaic from 1992-93. Stewart was rumored to appear in a JLA film treatment in which the rapper/actor Common would play Green Lantern. Warner Bros has shelved that movie project.

8. ShadowHawk: While several black superheroes began as thinly developed caricatures, Jim Valentino’s ShadowHawk dealt with some of the most serious issues any comic has tackled.

Gangsters attacked District Attorney Paul Johnstone at his office and rather than killing him outright, opted for the cruel punishment of injecting him with HIV-infected blood. He became very depressed and the only thing that stopped his downward spiral was a taste for vengeance. After some muggers hospitalized Johnstone, he learned of a mechanical exoskeleton that could give him the edge against criminals. Donning it, he became ShadowHawk.

This book’s willingness to deal with HIV and AIDS head on made it a work well ahead of its time in a genre known for fantasy. Despite the invulnerable aura of a hero, ShadowHawk’s illness was never far from his mind or the reader’s eye. The hero’s costume even contained compartments for his pills.

Johnstone worked tirelessly to beat the disease, either through conventional medical means or more fantastic measures like transferring his consciousness into a robot. In a refreshing taste of realism for the medium, ShadowHawk did not find a miracle cure. Rather, Johnstone succumbed to the virus and died in 1995, a story covered by the mainstream media.

7. Milestone Comics Heroes: That moniker could refer to not only the characters coming from this company, but the creators that founded it. In 1993 Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Derek Dingle and Michael Davis embarked on a short but important journey in comics. Milestone Comics was a creator-owned company that had a separate publishing agreement with DC Comics. DC was acknowledging the need for a multicultural presence in the industry. Milestone published for only four years, but introduced an unprecedented level of diversity to comics.

Its stories dealt with severe issues in the African-American community. Rocket, the sidekick of Milestone hero Icon,was a single teenage mother. Icon himself was an alien with who had once been a slave. The super-powered street gang Blood Syndicate had a book that tackled homosexuality, drug addiction and the dynamic that inspires teens to join gangs.

It’s notoriously hard to kill superheroes and the Milestone hero Static was reborn in a well-received Saturday-morning cartoon on the WB Network. Ironically, the show Static Shock ran for four seasons, giving Static double the lifespan of the other Milestone characters.

Like a favorite band that its fans can’t let go of, rumors of a Milestone return are among the most persistent in the world. Whatever happens with that, Milestone’s impact was long lasting and they’ve earned their spot on this list.

6. Spawn: All the heroes on this list have cultural significance, but only one was ever a sales phenomenon rivaling anything Superman or Spider-Man was doing at the time.

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane was one of the hottest names in the business when he conceived Al Simmons, a CIA operative killed by his corrupt boss. Simmons would do anything to see his wife one more time and agreed to become a Hellspawn, a powerful soldier in Satan’s army. Spawn was the prototype for the dark, brooding anti-hero that rose to prominence in the 1990s. McFarlane’s art and the gritty story were a one-two punch to established heavyweights like Marvel and DC.

No comic with an African-American lead character had ever moved as many books as Spawn did. He starred in a feature film, had an Emmy-award winning cartoon and even appeared as a secret character in a Soul Calibur fighting game.

As times changed and comics shifted away from the anti-hero era, Spawn’s popularity waned dramatically. But with 175 issues (and counting) under his hellish belt, Spawn’s place in Black Superhero history is set for dare I say – all eternity?

Images courtesy of Image Comics, Warner Bros.

Post from: SF Universe